Known in-home monitoring systems at times combine scheduled sensing of physiological parameters of a resident with an exchange of information to a remote location. At that remote location, a monitoring person, or agent, may assist the resident through messages. Many of the known systems only measure predetermined physiological parameters of the resident. This is only a partial indication of an individual's health.
A resident may not realize when his/her behaviors are contributing to a potential decrease in health. Furthermore, many health related issues of the individual may not be included in the query that the individual answers. Thus the resident's health may be degrading without it being detected by the remote monitor. In addition, even if an abnormality is detected, it may be difficult to determine the reason—even if a nurse is called to visit the resident later.
There is thus a continuing need to be able to better assess the health of individuals whose activities of daily living may be impacted by one physiological condition or another. Preferably, much functionality would be compatible with and integratable into an upgraded in-residence monitoring system. It would be further desirable to be able to create and maintain an activity profile. Such a profile could exist as an averaged activity representation of an individual's activities. Alternatively, it could exist as a plurality of different daily activities.
Further, it would be desirable to take into account the comings and goings of a resident. In known systems where a displaced monitor can make calls to check on the condition or status of an individual, a failure to answer can be a cause for concern. Thus, it would be preferable to be able to advise the displaced monitor as to the presence or absence of the respective individual from the residence.